NEW DELHI – An Indian man who used a cobra and a viper to murder his wife was today sentenced to life in jail, in what prosecutors called the “rarest of rare” cases.
Sooraj Kumar set loose a highly venomous Russell’s viper on his wife Uthra that left her in hospital for almost two months, said prosecutors.
While she recovered at her parents’ house, the 28-year-old Kumar obtained a cobra from a snake handler and threw it at her when she was asleep.
Its venomous bite killed the 25-year-old woman.
Kumar pleaded not guilty, but police said his phone records showed that he was in touch with snake handlers and watched snake videos online before the killing in March last year in Kollam, in the southern state of Kerala.
Kumar stayed in the room with Uthra after the cobra bit her and went about his morning routine the next day when alerted by the victim’s mother, said prosecutors.
“The mode of execution and the diabolical plan of the accused to murder Uthra, his wife who was bedridden, makes it (the case) fall into the category of rarest of rare,” added prosecutors, who had sought the death penalty.
Snake handler Vava Suresh said it is possible that Kumar “inflicted pain on the reptile to provoke it to bite”, the Hindustan Times newspaper quoted him as saying.
Uthra was from an affluent family, but her husband, a bank worker, was not well off.
Her parents became suspicious after Kumar tried to take control of her property following her death.
Their marriage involved a big dowry, including a new car and 500,000 rupees (RM27,590).
According to media reports, Kumar’s family were charged with conspiracy after some of Uthra’s gold was found buried near his home days after the murder. – AFP, October 13, 2021
